'NBA 2K13' Rankings: Rajon Rondo's Leap Is Well-Deserved

Rajon Rondo made a gigantic leap in the 2012 postseason, and as a result, he will be appropriately compensated when 2K Sports' latest basketball video game incarnation, NBA 2K13, comes out October 2, 2012.

The individual player ratings are always a conversation starter for diehard fans, and 2K decided to slowly leak a few players' ratings via twitter.

Rondo's rating of 90 seems to catch the eye right away.

Last year's game pegged the do-it-all point guard as an 85. Considering his numbers in the 2011 playoffs (14 points, 9.6 assists), you'd have to say they did a pretty solid job of evaluating his talent.

The 2012 playoffs gave birth to an other-worldly Rondo, though. A new player emerged this year, and he dominated the position like nobody we've seen since Magic Johnson, averaging 17.3 points and 11.9 assists.

We saw this enigmatic point guard seemingly bring back to the foreground the concept of a triple-double. Rondo recorded six in the regular season but an impressive three more during the playoffs this past summer, helping guide the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals.

In Game 2 of those very same finals against the eventual-champion Miami Heat, Rondo put on a display that will go down in the annals of the NBA.

His final tally of 44 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists alone is remarkable. What really makes his leap into the upper echelon of players this league has to offer is the history he made that night. The Elias Sports Bureau reported that he became the first player in NBA history to reach each of those thresholds in a single playoff game.

He also passed Bob Cousy as the Celtics' all-time leader in games with 10 or more assists in the playoffs.

Remarkably, this rating of 90 will still cause ire with many people. The usual refrains—"he can't shoot from outside, his free-throw shooting is terrible"—will come spilling forth. But he does far too much on the court, and in such a unique way, history-wise, for him to be any lower than 90.

While I believe you could make the case he should be a bit higher, the fact he was given a five-point boost is reason enough to be thankful the good people at 2K Sports do their due diligence when creating this game.

Rondo is most certainly one of the best players in the league, and his rating does him good, clean justice.